Importance of Covalent Linkages in the Preparation of Effective Reduced Graphene Oxide-Poly(vinyl chloride) Nanocomposites

The preparation of nanocomposites of reduced graphene oxide (RGO) with poly(vinyl chloride) (PVC) is reported. Covalent modification of PVC with RGO and reduction/precipitation of graphite oxide and isocyanates-modified GO in the presence of PVC are studied. Among these methods it is proposed that only the former produces nanocomposites with enhanced final properties. The other method failed because it did not produce nanocomposites with different properties to the original polymer, probably due to the lack of effective interfacial interaction. The RGO-chemically modified PVC samples have different thermal and mechanical properties with respect to the parent polymer. A discussion on the dependence of the properties on the method of preparation is given. Furthermore, preliminary results based on the effect of the aspect ratio and surface chemistry of the filler are also given.